


Here Comes the Flood

by magnessina



Series: Breathless [6]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-23
Updated: 2014-05-06
Packaged: 2018-01-20 13:30:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1512329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnessina/pseuds/magnessina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She did show up and things got deep before they got shameless.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, dear.   
> It's THE date.  
> I was aiming for funny and quirky, but this chapter got away from me very fast. So I've decided to split it into two parts, the first one is deep, the second one is shameless. Hope you won't hate it :) 
> 
> Once again, thank you so much for all of your comments and kudos. I appreciate them so, so much!

Mr Gold closes his shop at quarter to four. The walk to Granny’s takes approximately five minutes, but he’s feeling so anxious about this whole thing, he figures it’s better to be safe than sorry.

_It was a bad, bad idea_ , he thinks as he orders his black coffee. Ruby raises her eyebrow at him when Gold tells her he’ll be drinking it at the diner; usually he just buys his coffee and leaves, not bothering to spend more time engaging with the citizens of Storybrooke than it’s absolutely necessary.

This time, however, he sits in one of the booths in the corner. He anxiously glances at the clock that shows it is, indeed, four on the dot.

She will be here any moment.

That is, if she took his offer seriously.

She didn’t exactly said she’d be there; they joked and messed around, she could’ve just shrugged it off.

It was a bad, bad idea.

Five more minutes pass and Gold’s ready to stop this madness and leave; ready to pretend that he’s not just been – to some extent, at least – stood up. Then, the door opens and a gasp leaves him.

Miss French is here.

And she’s glowing.

She looks around and spots him immediately; she smiles gently and orders iced tea as Ruby excitedly greets her.

She hasn’t changed her attire, Gold notices, for which he’s grateful. He saw her in that particular outfit this morning, so he has been prepared for the sight and, therefore, manages not to groan out loud. Sort of.

He’s quite aware of the stares as Belle makes her way to the booth he’s occupying.

“Mr Gold,” she smiles sweetly at him. “What a lovely surprise!”

“Miss French,” he plays along and stands up. “I did not expect to see you here, after all.”

“Does your offer still stand, though? Is this seat taken?”

“Not at all. Would you like to join me?”

“I would love to, thank you,” Belle nods. He waits for her to be comfortably perched on her seat before sitting down himself. When Ruby comes with their orders, Gold notices she winks at Miss French.

Which is strange; he’d expect a different reaction, considering that the two of them are apparently friends.

“I must admit, Mr Gold, that I am surprised you… hinted at being here today and implied you wouldn’t really mind if I joined you.”

“Are you?” Well, so is he, let’s be real. “We drank coffee together once, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to do that again.”

“I thought you hated the first time!”

“What? Why would I? I mean, we always chat when I come to the library to collect the rent.”

“Well, yes. But these conversations are ten minutes long. When you saw me with those cups, you looked as if you wanted to be anywhere but there. With me.”

Gold hates himself so much at this moment. He was, indeed, wary and unpleasant, he admits. He should’ve tried harder.

But then again, at that time he was desperate to get over her.

Now he’s not sure he wants to.

“I should apologise, then, Miss French. I’m not very good at showing affection, I guess. I did appreciate your gesture and I did have a good time talking to you.”

“It’s… it’s okay. I’m sorry, I’m making you feel bad, aren’t I? I didn’t mean to.”

“You thought I had hated you, which I assure you is not the case, and I was just shocked beyond belief you willingly visited my shop,” Gold smiles softly.

Belle bursts into giggles, then, and says, “We’re both so silly!”

“That we are,” he agrees.

Gold cannot help himself and asks, “Are you really that surprised that we’re here?”

Belle is quiet for a few moments.

She probably is; she’s probably shocked an old fool like him would ever think about asking out a gorgeous woman like her.

“Yes,” she replies. “I am. You don’t really interact with anybody. Ever. And people hardly notice me in this town anyway. So yes, I’m surprised you don’t mind us getting another drink together.”

“Oh, I beg to differ,” he chuckles. “People notice you.”

Honestly, it is hard to miss the young librarian in her pretty clothes and colossal stilettoes, running around Storybrooke with a giant smile on her face.

“Not really, no. I thought moving here from Boston would mean I’d make many new friends, you know? This town is so small, everybody knows each other, and yet it is hard to find somebody to talk to. Don’t get me wrong; I love it here. It’s just… Sometimes it gets lonely.”

It does. It does get lonely.

But having been divorced for fifteen years now, he’s got used to it.

She’s young, though; of course she craves company.

“I notice you,” Gold says quietly, not meeting her eyes.

She’s beautiful, she is, but he does notice that her body and face are not the only things I admires. Her mind is beautiful, too.

“You do now. You have, for the last couple of weeks or so. You hadn’t spared me a second glance before.” There’s no accusation in her tone. She’s just telling it as it is. And she’s right. “I think people seem to enjoy power in this town. I don’t care about it, so I stick to my books. And turn invisible.”

“Well, Regina seems to dislike you. So you must be doing something very good for Storybrooke.”

“Good,” Belle seems to brighten up at that. “Oh Gosh, perhaps the reason why people still have not warmed up to me yet is because I turn every conversation into a melodrama?” She sighs, shaking her head. “Again, Mr Gold, I’m sorry. It was supposed to be a nice meeting after work and I’m making it all sad and mope-y. I swear I don’t sulk very often.”

“You’re not. I’m quite… enjoying your perspective, I must admit. And if you do feel like you haven’t got enough friends around here, then… Miss French, I’m Aidan Gold. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

She smiles at him in a way that makes his heart flutter in his chest.

“My name’s Belle and the pleasure is all mine, Aidan,” she says, shaking the hand he offers her firmly.

It’s the first time they really touch.

Gold wants _more._

“Well, what do we have here!” The moment is ruined by Regina Mills herself, who decides to interrupt them. Aidan closes his eyes; this cannot be good. “I can’t believe you, Gold. To use your influence and trick the young, innocent librarian into having cute little dates with you? That’s low. Even for you.”

“Oh, Madame Mayor,” Belle answers her instead, when he’s frantically thinking of what to say. “You’ve got it all wrong. It is me who did the tricking; I slammed right into him in the street and the poor guy felt so bad he asked me out for a coffee. Lucky me. I mean, have you ever _seen_ him? I think you’re jealous!”

“Jealous? Me?” Regina scoffs. “Please. By all means… have a good time.”

She’s being insincere. Belle doesn’t mind, though. “Oh, we will.”

Regina lifts her perfectly shaped eyebrow at them, turns around and leaves.

Gold heavies a sigh.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything,” he begins, closing his eyes. Belle seems to realise what happened to him.

“It’s because you know that’s what the rest of the town thinks, right? That it’s a trickery? The damsel falling into a trap? Even though it’s not true?”

He doesn’t say anything.

“Wanna leave?”

Gold’s eyes snap open to see Belle smiling warmly at him.

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s go.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The date continues, and it gets deliciously shameless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you sooo much for your support, kudos, bookmarks and wonderful comments. It truly means a lot to me.  
> Here's the second part of those two dorks's date, which I hope you enjoy. Will there be more? Possibly. Feel free to prompt me, but alas I have to focus on finishing off my thesis as well as start preparing for finals. I'm graduating this year, so... You know.  
> Nonetheless, have at it and I hope to see you soon!

Mr Gold doesn’t quite comprehend what is happening at the moment.

Apparently, he’s walking around Storybrooke with the adorable librarian chattering happily about her job and how she ended up living with Ruby, but he has a hard time believing it is actually true.

He fears he’s dreaming; it wouldn’t be that shocking, considering that his dreams, in which Belle always plays the role of the leading lady, are pretty damn vivid.

In order to convince himself he’s not asleep, he purposely twists his ankle just a bit as he walks, and contentedly welcomes the sharp pain that shots through his lame leg.

Unfortunately, his quiet whimper does not escape his companion.

“Are you okay?” Belle asks him.

“Yes, yes, quite. It’s… the ankle. It has been acting up for quite some time now.”

She bites down on her lip.

It’s strangely arousing.

“You catching me not once, but twice, probably didn’t help it either.”

“I, ah– ” he hesitates, trying to come up with a believable reassurance that no, he’s not incapable of protecting her, his bad leg be damned. But she somehow senses it, and gasps, “Oh God, it’s me. Your ankle’s been worse because you caught me!”

“It is nothing, Belle.” It feels so good to finally use her first name.

“I am so sorry.” She looks like she’s on the verge of tears and Gold actually feels hurt – it’s ridiculous, but he sure as hell doesn’t want her to feel sorry for him.

“I don’t need anyone’s pity.”

“It’s not that,” she shakes her head. “I’m just sorry I brought you pain.”

“It’s nothing I couldn’t handle. It’ll be just fine in a few days or so.”

“Still. I feel like I owe you ice cream.”

Gold chuckles.

“Belle, I swear you don’t have to buy me things to tell me you’re thankful or apologetic. I’m fine.”

“Look, there’s an ice cream stand over there. I’m gonna buy you the best ice cream you’ve ever eaten, trust me. I’m an expert when it comes to candy.”

He just shakes his head with amusement, and can’t bring himself to protest any further; her youthful energy and liveliness is rubbing off on him.

True to her word, the cone Belle bought him is truly delicious.

But that’s not why he thanks all gods above that she’s come up with this idea as they sit on one of the benches in the little Storybrooke’s park.

The reason why he’s suddenly absolutely in love with ice cream is because she’s licking hers in the most sinful way imaginable.

Honestly, this woman seems to turn everything she does into a sexual action.

Her pink tongue swirls around the strawberry- flavoured scoop and he tries, he does try, yet he can’t help but imagine what that tongue could do to his body.

It’s a very disturbing image, because his wife never really… cared enough to focus on him, expecting Aidan to do all the work, while she would just lie there and complain the day after. That’s why sex has become a sad duty, one he was glad to be rid of.

Belle has truly changed everything; the things he never knew he wanted… Yes, now he wants them very much.

To think about Belle licking every inch of his neck, and chest, and then teasing his erect shaft with that skilled tongue is just too much for him to bear, and his breathing is shallow, and he’s probably blushing, too.

Again, this… date was a bad, bad idea.

“You have to hurry, Aidan, or your ice cream will be soon flowing down your sleeve,” she giggles, gesturing at the hand holding his cone. He quickly remedies the situation, licking and sucking on his scoop so that it doesn’t melt completely.

When he looks at her, her sight is sort of hazy and she seems to be observing him in wonder.

“What, have I got something on my face?”

“What? No, no.” She waves her hand. “Tastes pretty good, doesn’t it?”

“It does, indeed.” They sit in a comfortable silence for a little while, but then he decides he has to know. “Belle, may I ask you a question?”

“Why, of course. Just not about science, or something,” she giggles. “I know many things about literature and linguistics, but maths and physics are not a favourite topics for a conversation.”

“You think I want to ask you about kinematic equations and free fall?”

“Please don’t. We can talk about English semantics, though, I went for a degree in linguistics.”

“I thought you studied literature, hence the job in the library?”

“I took library science. It was an extra course, to be honest. Just so I could work in one. There are all sorts of books there, you know? It’s not that I simply like to rid, per se. I didn’t want to focus solely on language. I wanted stories, too.”

He smiles at her, once again quite taken away with what she’s saying.

“So, what was your question?”

“Why… why did you come to Granny’s today?”

She thinks about it for a moment and then beams at him, “I wanted to see you again.”

“It seems… unreal.”

“It is quite real, Aidan. I was afraid you hated me. Now that I know you don’t, I’d like to get to know you better.”

“But why me?” He inquires.

“Are you really that surprised? Have you met you?”

“I have,” he says, “and that’s precisely where my question is coming from. I hate this town, I make deals with desperate souls, I don’t forgive and I don’t forget. I’m also much older than you, not handsome, and my leg is like cherry on top.”

She shakes her head and takes his hand in hers, squeezing it gently.

“I see the man who makes deals with grown-up people who know exactly what that man is capable of. I see the man who is disliked by others because he keeps to himself and takes care of his business – people tend to hate those they have to give their money to. And I see the man who’s extremely attractive with his long hair, perfectly tailored suits and his elegant cane. As for the age gap, I’m more worried you’ll think me a silly child.”

“I don’t,” he rasps.

“Good.”

Perhaps, one day, his fantasies will come true.


End file.
